Yeong Yang "Mars" YY-5603 mid-tower case

Yeong Yang has two categories of PC cases: Value and Performance Desktops. The former category are all smaller than midsize towers. The Mars YY-5603 falls into the latter Performance category, which are all mid-tower size. The 8.3"W x 20.1"D x 17.3"H size is fairly standard, but compared to most mid-tower cases the 20" depth from front to back is a couple inches greater than usual. The first impression is of solidity and performance orientation, despite the flashy front bezel.

Have another look at the photo from the previous page:

The case has four
external 5.25" bays and one external 3.5" bay. The 3.5" bay is located, unusually at the top, rather than below the optical drive bays. The power button and in/out ports are located on the top front at the front edge, somewhat like the Antec P160. The panel complement includes the power
switch, reset switch, power LED, HDD LED, USB2.0, mic in, headphone out and IEEE1394.

The red trim along the sides are actually intake vents. In fact, the front bezel is formed of two plastic pieces. It is the inner piece that form the side intake vents -- and the big bottom vent as well.

NOTE: The silver color portion of the plastic bezel is shinier that you see in most bezels. A close look at the plastic reveals why: The color or paint has been applied on the inside surface of a clear plastic. The shiny outer skin of the transparent plastic as well as the silver paint on the side are both somewhat reflective. Hence the flashy shiny appearance.

It's a pretty generous intake vent on the bottom.

The front bezel, made of two plastic parts: The outer shell is harder, the inner one softer.
Unscrewing the two parts and adding a layer of silicone glue or similar between them could improve acoustic isolation and reduce resonance, although the gains would depend on the noise level of the components in the PC: If low, it probably would not be worth the effort.

There is a screen filter...

...that covers the front intake vent, designed for a 120mm fan .

Yes, they included the plastic quick-mount fan bracket favored by so many case makers. The good part is that it can be easily dispensed, and a 120mm fan be simply jammed into place with some spongy foam around it to decouple it from the chassis.

As you can see from the photo below, the front panel of the chassis has no holes except for on the removable metal pieces that cover unused optical drive bays. The holes on those metal pieces are substantial, so if the case has strong exhaust airflow, some of the air that comes in through the side intake vents on the front bezel will surely channel through them. This will be completely unfiltered, but at least it's not near the floor where the dust intake problem is worst.

Some of the rectangular holes along the sides are for the front bezel clips. Undoing three of them on the left (after the side cover is off) starts the simple process of removing it. It snaps back in place easily, too.

NOTE: When removed the metal pieces for optical drive bays cannot be put back on.

All in all, the front bezel and metalwork is as good as the very best we've seen: Excellent intake venting with minimal impedance from either the plastics or the grills. Yet there is no direct sound path out to the seated user. This is about as good as the Evercase 4252 case, which has been our reference standard for front venting / bezel design.

The only place it falls short is behind the front fan grill, where the side-mounted HDD cage presents about 50% or greater air blockage. This is unfortunate; it is too bad that there aren't more holes in the drive bay to allow more air to pass through unused HDD slots.